Victorino establishes new foundation

Center fielder's programs will support youth in Philly, Hawaii

Shane Victorino, who extended his contract with the Phillies in the offseason, has established a foundation to "promote opportunities for under-served youth in Philadelphia and Hawaii by engaging in projects which provide children with educational, recreational and wellness programs."

The Shane Victorino Fund's first project will be the renovation of a Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia facility that's more than a century old. He pledged $900,000 toward that project at the announcement of the foundation on Monday.

"[The contract extension] made it easier for me to do something like this, to be able to give back to a community that has given me so much over the last five years that I've been here," Victorino told MLB.com. "Having the opportunity to start here and take it from here to Hawaii is next."

Wakefield sets Red Sox record for innings: Tim Wakefield became the Red Sox leader in innings pitched on Tuesday night against Cleveland. His record of 2,777 innings pitched came long after he began his career as an infielder and was later released by the Pirates.

"I feel very blessed to be able to wear this uniform for as long as I have," Wakefield told the Boston Globe. "I think it's a sign of longevity, dealing with adversity, the ups and downs, having an organization that believes in me and has kept me here for as long as I've been here.

"It's a tribute to just never giving up. If I can pass on to somebody, maybe one of those people that are on the bubble, [it] is never quit. I've never done that, regardless of how good I've pitched or how bad I've pitched. It's always keep striving to be better, and I was fortunate to be here as long as I have been and to get a win tonight, and to pass Roger [Clemens] for all time for innings pitched is pretty special."

Strasburg lives up to hype: Stephen Strasburg lived up to the hype in his Major League debut, striking out 14 batters in seven innings en route to a 5-2 win.

"Everybody is impressed with what this kid did today," Ivan Rodriguez, the Nationals' veteran catcher and a likely future Hall of Famer, told the The Washington Post. "He completely dominated."

The game was televised by the MLB Nework and a crowd of 40,315 attended the game at Nationals Park.

Wieters familiar with the hype drill: Matt Wieters could relate to the hype surrounding Stephen Strasburg's debut on Tuesday night.

"I don't think it's the nerves that get you because you've been waiting for this moment for a long time in your life," Wieters told MLB.com. "But it's all the stuff that's not baseball-related that you have to go through and you have to deal with. But Strasburg has been dealing with it the last couple months or so, especially just leading up to when [he got called up]. He had a little more time."

Mike Stanton answers the call in debut: Power prospect Mike Stanton heard from Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria himself that his time in the Minors was over.

"He just said he's sick of waiting, and he wants to see me up here with the big boys," Stanton, the Marlins' 2007 second-round pick out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I didn't really know what to expect three years ago and definitely didn't think I'd be here three years from then."

Stanton had three hits and two runs scored in his Major League debut on Tuesday against the Phillies.

Cedeno turns to eye black for mustache: Ronny Cedeno knew it would be a difficult for him to grow a mustache to match those of his Pirates teammates, so he improvised and drew one on with eye black for Sunday's game.

"That was my idea," Cedeno told MLB.com. "Just trying to be a teammate and trying to be relaxed in the game. Just enjoying what I'm doing."

Ludwick wants to make noise with defense: Ryan Ludwick has a Silver Slugger Award on his resume, but his glove work rarely gets noticed.

"It's been a goal of mine to get some recognition for something I've worked so hard at my whole life," Ludwick told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It would feel good, to be honest with you."

Mazzaro makes return to starting rotation: The door has opened for Vin Mazzaro to return to the A's starting rotation. Mazzaro has made three appearances as a middle reliever since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on May 20.

"It's definitely a shot to prove myself again and go out there and just dominate," Mazzaro told the Oakland Tribune. "Do what I did last year -- just go in there, pound the zone and get outs."

"It's tough not throwing for that long -- you feel kind of rusty when you go out there," Mazzaro said about pitching middle relief. "You've just got to stay loose and get your work in because you don't know when you're going to be up. It was an experience, but I'm glad to be in a starting role again."

Cash banks on preparation for success: You can tell when Kevin Cash will be catching for the Astros by the three-ring notebook filled with scouting reports he pours over constantly. He developed his preparation habits watching Red Sox veteran Jason Varitek.

"Just being around Jason in Boston so much, how he went about it, how important it can be in a crucial part of the game to know, 'Hey, this guy likes hitting the changeup, but he doesn't like hitting the breaking ball,' or whatever it is," Cash told the Houston Chronicle. "Or he sits soft late in the count. Those little things can help you through the course of the game."

Adrian Gonzalez using the entire field: Adrian Gonzalez's power to the opposite field comes naturally. Of his 13 home runs this season, six have landed left of center field -- including his past four blasts. The Padres first baseman hit 38 homers last year, and 21 were to the opposite field -- a Major League high.

"I've done it my whole life," Gonzalez told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I've just never been a pull hitter. All the home runs I hit in Little League were to the opposite field. My dad always taught us to stay square and let the ball get deep. All my doubles were to left-center. Everything I hit, I hit to left field.

"I can't say it's something I work at. Very few times am I thinking I'm going to pull the ball. My frame of mind, almost every swing, is to go the other way."